Compatability
by Kye Above
Summary: Near and Linda were very compatible, which could be why they became such good friends. /Zodiac Signs/ "Well then, Happy Birthday Nate."


**I just had to do a one-shot for Near's birthday, because he doesn't get enough love. It's probably terribly OOC, but I really don't care.**

* * *

August 24th. Takes place in the time of the sign Virgo. Virgos are said to be passionate and caring, and to always want to do the right thing. They are the most structured of the twelve signs, and a likely friend. But if this was all true, what happened to Near?

* * *

This day of the year was the only time Near normally couldn't be found playing with his toys, unless it was a puzzle. Few had noticed the pattern, but out of all that did pick out that August twenty fourth meant something to Near, only Linda had bothered to ask. It was his birthday. This year he would be turning thirteen.

She had no presents that she could give, though she was sure that Near wouldn't have accepted anything even if she had bothered. Last year, he had coldly told her that he didn't care about his birthday. It was only months later that she discovered that Near had been a Wammy's House since he was a few months old, and Wammy's House wasn't a place where birthdays were openly celebrated, so Near never would have had a proper birthday.

While part of her wanted to show Near what a birthday was really all about, she had decided against it.

They now sat across each on the floor, Near's white puzzle between them. In their two year long friendship, Near had become more than willing to express himself around her. He had a lot of trouble with it sometimes, but that was from all the years of blocking off everything.

"Linda,when is your birthday?" Near asked, looking up at her with his dark, almost black, blue eyes that appeared dark grey when he had his contacts in. He preferred to have them out when he worked on puzzles, because why they improved his farsighted vision, his nearsighted vision was downgraded as a result. Because the puzzle only had slight variations in shading, a close eye was needed to spot all the differences.

Near's question startled Linda a bit, but she answered like it didn't.

"April 21st. Why?"

Near clicked a puzzle piece into place, completing the black L.

"No real reason. I just thought that since you knew what day I was born, I should know yours"

Linda nodded, and placed a white puzzle piece into the spot she thought it was supposed to fit. When she found out her mistake, she sighed in annoyance. She wasn't exactly sure how Near managed to complete this puzzle every single day without help. Near took the piece from her hand and placed it not to far away from where she had been attempting to place it. At least she had been close.

"What are you doing spending time with this dumb blond Linda?" Both looked up at Mello, who had just entered the playroom with Matt trailing close behind him, lost in the world of gaming.

Linda frowned. Mello really annoyed her these days, though when they were younger it had been a different story. She could actually stand to talk to him when they were children.

"Mello, you know very well that even though he might not call me one, Near and I are friends and friends spend time with each other."

Near joined in, but changed the subject considerably and with a tone that almost seemed flirtatious.

"The question that should be asked is why you've started dying your hair blond. Blond jokes aside, I quite liked the chocolate brown color it used to be. It looked very nice on you." He ended his words with a fake smile.

The annoyance and anger energy that flowed from Mello was so strong that Matt was no longer able to concentrate on his game and had to pause it. Mello looked about to burst, but remembered what Roger had told him about being cut off from chocolate, and backed down. Mello stormed out of the room, dragging Matt behind him. Linda smirked when she heard Matt comment that he quite liked Mello's original colour.

She then turned back to Near, who looked bored once again.

"You just love to get a rise out of him, don't you?"

"I honestly just liked his old hair colour."

Linda smiled.

"Yeah, and it fit him so much better than that blond." She then chuckled. "It's funny that he calls you a dumb blond still despite the fact that he's now a blond himself and that you're the top at Wammy's House." She paused for a moment, taking a puzzle piece and placing it down, surprisingly in the right place. Maybe she was improving at this. "Mello needs better insults."

"He'll think of some eventually. Even if he has to consult the internet."

"Thank the world for the internet."

"Even I have to agree with that."

Suddenly a blush appeared on Near's face. It looked foreign and unreal, like his smiles. Linda decided that it was best not to wonder what Near could have been looking at while on the internet.

Near grabbed another puzzle piece from the floor and after a few seconds of staring at the board, put it in it's spot. Linda shook her head as an most likely non-effective extra precaution against any thoughts that tried to enter her mind.

"Near, even though you'll never admit it, you're a good friend."

He didn't stop his work or say anything, and Linda didn't expect him to, but after a few moments he did reply.

"If anyone but you said that, I wouldn't believe them.

* * *

April 21st. Takes place during the sign of Taurus. Taureans are said to be cool, calm and collected. They tend to set themselves away from the crowd, but are still socializers. They are fine with letting people get close, but only as close as they want them to be. They can be hard to read, but they allow their true spirit to emerge over time and only to certain people.

Near thought this described Linda quite well.

* * *

Virgos and Taureans had a very high compatibility with each, the highest out of all the other zodiac signs that each could end up with.

Maybe that was why they became such good friends. That could also be the reason for….another thing.

* * *

"So you've turned nineteen today. I still can't believe it." Linda, now twenty one, commented as she sketched him. Near agreed, placing a puzzle piece onto the board. Near was a bit surprised that she had kept his old favorite puzzle, but it was nice that she had.

"You still look almost exactly the same as you did when you were thirteen, though your hair is longer." She seemed happy that he had grown his hair out in the past few months. Near remembered that she used to love drawing long haired anime boys, so that could have been the reason.

"How did we get like this?" He had been repeating that sentence over and over in his head since the ending of the Kira case. It was a question that had many possible answers, but he knew only few of them.

Linda stopped drawing and placed the sketch book on her lap.

"If you're talking about our failed friendship, I believe we got into a dispute over Kira." She laughed, a sound that Near realized that he had missed. "It was a stupid reason to stop talking to each other. Now that I know what Kira's really like, I see I had it wrong. Kira was never justice, only fear." Placing her sketchbook on the coffee table, she stood up from her chair and made the short walk over to the couch where Near sat. "So what's your real name. You obviously know mine since you tracked me down."

"River….Nate River" The name sounded alien to him. He had never used it in his life. He had always been Near, and he had always found it unnecessary to have an actual name. And the name Near was much less unusual than the name Nate.

Linda ruffly hugged him, almost crushing his small frame. When she released him she smiled pleasantly.

"Well then, Happy Birthday Nate."

* * *

**I'm leaving this open ended, because even I don't know what happened next. I hope you enjoyed at least some parts of this OOC Story.**

**Also, for those whose minds were in the gutter, when Near blushed, it wasn't because he had looked at porn. He was looking at the zodiac signs and he realized then that his and Linda's zodiacs were very compatible. **


End file.
